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Animated Atrocities 103/Transcript
I've tried to rewrite this review like 3 or 4 times. This is because this is one of "those" episodes. It's one of those episodes about a heavily charged topic, and I'm not going to beat around the bush while I review it. Gather around, ladies and gentlemen, because we're talking about sex today! Guys, you might like this one because, according to our society, men want sex all the time. 100% of it. The problem is that that stereotype isn't remotely true. And also that particular stereotype invokes a lot of angered passion within me, for various, various reasons. And the difficulty with doing this particular episode, is separating the subject matter from the actual execution. Because the actual execution of this episode is horrible. Remember my "Screams of Silence" review? Yeah, the worst piece of shit that ever smelled like shit? That episode tried to portray domestic abuse and did it in an incredibly dishonest way. This episode takes a different route: it portrays female on male sexual harassment fairly realistically. As realistically as you can expect Family Guy to portray something. However, the message of the satire, and the actual execution is not only confusing, but it's horribly, horribly insulting! To keep this review focused, I'm going to do what I did for my "Screams of Silence" review: in the first part, we review the episode and the story that it presents; in the second episode, we bring up the subject matter and talk about it in-depth. And all of the many, many reasons that it ticks me off. This episode tackles female on male sexual harassment. Giving this episode the benefit of the doubt, I think it's trying to be similar to that South Park episode, and put a lampoon on a destructive and stupid double-standard. But the execution of "Peter-assment" is so botched, it gets very confused to which side that it's on: the side that's trying to dismantle the stereotype, or the side that's trying to mock the victims of said stereotype. I mean, we've got unfortunate implications at 10 today, people. No, this episode isn't as bad as "Seahorse Seashell Party", "Screams of Silence", or even "Fresh Heir", but I am still going to be very harsh. There's a point that I want to get across: when you do a message or a plotlline, that very few others are daring to try, you cannot afford to drop the ball as badly as this episode did. Let me start off with saying what this episode tried to convey: not all men want sex all the time. I hope that both the men and women in my audience understand this. There's this horrible media perception that all men are basically Quagmire, and that all women are totally asexual. That's obviously not true at all. But that's the perception that all movies, commercials, sitcoms, seem to throw out there. Not only is it not true, but personally I find that it's the most destructive stereotype placed on men, and I'll get into that in the next video. was likeable once upon a time, right? As a corollary to that, men can be sexually harassed, by women and by other men. And yes, men can also be raped by women. By the way, if either of those topics are too uncomfortable to you, consider that your trigger warning for this review. do I think of the musical? It's one of those: "we're desperately trying to piss people off to get attention. See Drawn Together: The Movie review for an in-depth look into how I feel about things like that. Like many Family Guy episodes, this one is written a lot like a game of round-robin: we do something completely unrelated to the plot, because we didn't have enough material to actually move the 22-minute episode. It starts with Stewie at a preschool play that isn't funny. It's just kind of weird. It's 5 years too late, and it sounds like one of those things where Family Guy intentionally tries to piss people off. From there, Peter sends a video to TMZ. This gets him to think he's a journalist. From there, he acts racist and gets punched, breaking his glasses. Here, the style of writing is particularly painful, because it's very clear that the actual plot needed that extra time. It takes us over 7 minutes to get to the actual plot, and the actual plot ends up getting rushed at the end! So at work, Peter not wearing glasses gets his boss, Angela, to notice him. Angela: No, that's not it, Griffin. There's... there's something different about you. You're not wearing glasses. Peter: Yeah they got busted. I'm wearin' contacts. Angela: I can see your eyes and-and your eyelashes. They're beautiful! Wow! Way to make me sensitive of my own fucking glasses! I thought that maybe a laugh was necessary, because this episode is about to get extremely uncomfortable, whether intentionally or not. Angela starts sexually harassing Peter after some very bad grossout. And we get to the first controversial part of the plot: Peter goes home and tells Lois that he's been sexually harassed at work. Lois has an, uh, interesting reaction. Lois: So what? Peter, a woman can't sexually harass a man. Peter: Why not? Lois: I don't know, it just doesn't make any sense. I mean, guys like being touched by women. It's not harassment if you like it. Oh boy, we've got a lot to talk about. First of all, let's talk about this moment from a story perspective. A lot of season 8 episodes had this specific problem, and specifically with Lois. Just take a look at "Quagmire's Dad". I have no idea how seriously this episode wants me to take Lois. She may be purposely saying something wrong, backwards, and stupid, like a character in a kids show saying that it's alright to steal. However, she's never called out as wrong in the episode. In fact, we're immediately given an example of Meg being sexually harassed at school. So, are the writers trying to say that Peter doesn't really have a problem? I mean, this isn't like the episode where Peter was given a prostate exam and he mistranslated it into something else. Peter really was sexually harassed here, and this moment paints the episode in a very confusing light. Is it really trying to say that this never actually happens and that's why this is supposed to be funny? Kind of like it's an equivalent to an episode about a guy getting pregnant? "It's funny because it just can't happen!" If so, then that's the major, major problem with the episode. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, though, this would be a realistic reaction from someone who does not believe that a man can be sexually harassed by a woman. Actually, it can be worse than that. I mean, most of the time, these people would believe that the man initiated it. And yes, that can lead to breakups and divorce. I'm actually surprised that Lois isn't accusing Peter of having an affair. It really sounds like something that she would do, and the only reason she's not doing it is because she'd be a massive hypocrite otherwise. To be very clear here, a man can get sexually harassed. This episode purposely portrays a textbook example of sexual harassment. To assume that men cannot get sexually harassed, is to believe every single man on Earth, wants to have sex with every single woman on Earth. All the time. Regardless of their current relationship status. It also makes the assumption that women have no libido of their own. It's amazing the bastardization of logic that this stereotype exists on, and that so many people still believe in it. Meg: '''I got sexually harassed at school. My chemistry teacher, Mr. Taylor, rubbed my shoulders for 35 minutes the one day I didn't wear a bra. '''Lois: See Peter, that's sexual harassment. An older man, a weak younger woman. He could've taken advantage of her; forced her to do things to him. Meg: '''He did. Awful things. '''Lois: See? I'm glad that you find statutory rape funny, Family Guy. This episode gets much worse by the way. Angela continues to sexually harass Peter: she forces him to wear sexually revealing outfits, threatens to fire him if he doesn't do what she wants, and forces him to join in on her role play. And then she sends him nearly to tears. This execution is just so confused. Like I said, it's a textbook example of sexual harassment, like literally textbook. This is what people are taught sexual harassment is. Just with the genders reversed. And the episode never makes their overall purpose clear. I really want to think they're trying to get a point across, but all too often it comes across as "Haha. This could never really happen! So let's show them what it'd be like if it did!" Maybe it's just the character they chose. I mean, take the episode, "Quagmire's Quagmire": it actually did this specific plot, or plot similar to it, a million times better. There was no ambiguity within it at all, and it actually did what both "Screams of Silence" and this episode failed to do. I'm going to keep assuming that this episode tried to get a message across, but even if that was the intention, they botched it horribly! They botched any intention here horribly. Lois makes fun of Peter for being harassed. I get what they're trying to do. I really do. The problem is that Lois goes through this whole episode with total impunity. This episode wants to play Reverse the Genders. Okay, let's play Reverse the Genders! If the genders were reversed, and Peter was teasing Lois for being sexually harassed, because she always wants sex, this behavior would not go over well with the audience. Even if it is in a comedy show. Because that's called slut-shaming! And yes, men can get slut-shamed too. When it comes to situations like rape and sexual harassment, they are seen as sluts by default! Quagmire's advice is something I really want to talk about. Peter: I know she's gonna make me have sex with her! What the hell am I gonna do?! Quagmire: ''' I don't know Peter, if you have sex with her, you give her all the power. If you don't have sex with her, you're gay. You can't win. Yeah, homophobia is a real problem. A lot of men find themselves forcing themselves to have sex, or objectify women, to prove to themselves, their friends, or society as a whole that they're not gay. If a man doesn't want sex at any given time, no matter how much sex he's gotten in the past, he is generally presumed as gay. So to avoid this, a lot of people feel the need to wear their heterosexuality on their sleeve, and this reinforces all of the other problems! It gets to a point where if a man says he doesn't want to have sex, people tend to think there's something wrong with him, either physically or mentally. And this leads to problems for everyone! I mean, I'd imagine the kind of rejection a woman would feel if this man, who is supposed to want sex all the fucking time - and all the non-fucking time too-, doesn't want to have sex with you. Chances are, it's not you, it's-it's just him. Not a physical or mental problem either, just a 'he doesn't want to do it right now' scenario. By the way, I absolutely love this part: Quagmire, who says that you're gay if you don't have sex with Angela, doesn't want to have sex with Angela! I guess this was Quagmire's "coming out" episode. Did you laugh at that joke? Shame on you! That's part of the fucking problem that I just mentioned 30 fucking seconds ago! It's not a joke if someone is gay or bisexual. We get to the scene where this episode bombs. Here, it had the chance to do truly remarkable things: stand tall with its message and its story, and highlight a reasonable issue. The problem is it doesn't do that. It immediately shoots itself in the foot; and then it shoots itself in the head! So Peter has been coerced into having sex with Angela, but if that isn't clear enough to show where the implications are-- '''Angela: I am tired of playing games, Griffin. I mean, let's go. I've waited long enough, I'm having sex with you right now! Peter: '''No! I don't wanna! '''Angela: '''Griffin! You have sex with me, or you're fired! If it wasn't prior, this just became an attempted rape. Yes, it is possible for a man to be raped. "But-but, erections". Let me be very clear with this: an erection does not equal consent. An erection is an autonomous physical process. Even though they happen during sex, erection, ejaculation, and orgasm, are all physical processes. The lack of understanding of this is quite dangerous. I mean, people of both sexes, sometimes refuse to believe they were raped, because they orgasm-ed during the event. After Peter gets away, we get to the ending of the episode. And let me be clear: it is not anger I feel this time, it's disgust. I don't know if it was that the people didn't think this through, or that they just didn't care at this point, but the ending to this episode is truly disgusting. It starts out with everyone making fun of Peter for refusing to be raped. Then the television talks to him. '''Peter: Are you talkin' to me, Robert Mitchum? Mitchum: You bet your ass I am. Look at you! You''re pathetic! What kind of a man gets fired by a broad? Peter: A man with a female boss? Mitchum: Don't crack wise! Listen Peter, somewhere along the line you got turned around! You're a man! And what do you think it means to be a man? Uh, according to myself, according to society, or according to this episode? Because according to this episode, being a man means giving sex to anyone who feels entitled to your genitals, regardless if you have standards or family who might care where your junk has been. According to society, bottling up all my problems and emotions, and never complaining about anything until I blow my brains out. According to myself, giving assholes like you the middle finger and standing up for what I think is right! Peter goes to find Angela suffocating herself in the garage. He rescues her, and then we get the backstory. Angela: You should've just left me alone! That's how I'm going to end up anyway! Peter: What are you talking about? Angela: I'm talking about the fact that I have nothing to live for. Griffin, I haven't been with anyone in 10 years, and when you spurned my advances, it was a wake-up call. No one's ever gonna love me again! Boys and girls, are you ready for another round of our favorite game, Reverse the Genders? Imagine a story about a working mom, who is married and she has kids. She has a male boss. This male boss starts sexually harassing her. This boss forces her to wear a sexually revealing outfit, forces her to live out his fantasies, and all the while, threatening her with being fired if she doesn't comply. After all this, she tries to confront him, in some way. Where, in turn, he tries to rape her! She gets away in the end, but because she turned down his rape attempt, this boss tries to kill himself. When questioned why, he admits that it's because he couldn't get laid enough. On a scale of 1 to attempted rapist, how pathetic is that man? I never, in my entire life, thought I'd find a story that wasn't some fetish thing from the back corner of the Internet, that wanted you to sympathize with an attempted rapist. I mean, they're definitely trying to be sincere here at the end. This isn't a joke, it's how the story unwinds. Yeah, men can get sexually harassed and that's wrong, but if a woman wants to rape you, you should let her because she's probably just lonely. For a story that wants to play Reverse the Genders, it's created a despicably disgusting story. Angela, in this episode, is one of the most pathetic characters ever written. Not because she hasn't had sex for so long. I wouldn't care if she never had sex or if she always had sex. She attempted to rape someone, and thought that being lonely or horny or whatever was justification. There is no justification, for a man or a woman. Rape, attempted or otherwise, is one of the most unforgivable things you can do, and the people who made this episode should know better. If you're that damned horny, masturbate, buy yourself a fucking vibrator, or get yourself a prostitute; whether or not you consider them to be illegal, immoral, whatever. It's a hell of a lot better than trying to commit rape. And they let Angela win in the end to get some sort of satisfaction. Let's see the precedent this story sets: if you haven't had sex in a long time, you're just lonely. It's okay to sexually harass, coerce people to sleep with you, and even rape them! If we applied that logic to the real world, society would be a fucking scary place! I don't know what the intention was from the start. If it was to tell jokes, they're all stale and cliche. If it was to tell a story, it's hard to do that with no character being sympathetic at all! I mean, even Peter, he starts the episode by annoying people with a film camera and being a racist; that's very difficult to make sympathetic! There seems to be this misconception that you can make any character sympathetic by giving them a backstory. No, you can't! he never got the Red Ryder BB Gun! It doesn't matter how mean Sauron's parents were to him. It doesn't absolve him for what he tried to do. And it doesn't matter how long Angela was "lonely". Speaking of which, there's this huge possibility that the episode keeps mocking Peter for being sexually harassed. You're supposed to mock the people who believe in the double-standard, not those victimized by it. If you want to be like South Park, that's the first rule you've gotta get down. Am I being too serious or harsh on this episode? No. I'm not. Like "Screams of Silence", this is another situation where people in real life do really get hurt. Hurt isn't the right word, exactly. They get their whole lives destroyed. If the episode wanted to highlight that men can get sexually harassed, they shouldn't have let everyone make fun of him with impunity, and decide that the only way out of it, was to be coerced into having sex with his harasser. If this episode wanted to tell a story, I should know who I'm supposed to root for. If this episode wanted to make me laugh, it should've actually been, you know, funny. And if this episode wants to go to its rightful place, it can burn in hell! Category:Animated Atrocities Category:Season 4 Category:Transcripts